The ‘MSC Ela’ Registered in Panama has been Hit Near the Strait of Hormuz as Shown by Aerial Drone Footage
The captain of the vessel confirmed that all crew members are safe. The UK Maritime Commercial Operations (UKMTO) reports that these attacks have left seven sailors dead. The MSC Ela, registered in Panama (IMO number 9282259), leaving the port of Antwerp, near Hansweert, Netherlands, this Wednesday was hit.. The European Commission will present the EU’s Industrial, Maritime and Port Strategies following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the escalating regional conflict, which is generating growing concerns about the global oil supply.
The UK Maritime Commercial Operations (UKMTO), which monitors the safety of ships and sailors at sea around the world, warned that a container ship was hit by a projectile a short distance from the Strait of Hormuz. According to the UKMTO alert, the ship’s captain reported that the vessel suffered damage from an “unidentified projectile” 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah, on the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a point still located within the Persian Gulf but a short distance from Hormuz, a key strait in the transport of crude oil that is on alert due to the war between the United States and Israel against Iran.
The UKMTO has recorded fourteen incidents affecting ships around the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman from February 28, when the conflict began, until March 10. Of these incidents, four are reports of “suspicious activity”, such as hearing or seeing explosions, and ten are attacks that have impacted a vessel. The Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s crude oil normally passes, has seen its traffic fall dramatically since the United States and Israel launched an attack against Iran that has triggered an escalation of regional tensions, with Tehran retaliating against the Gulf countries allied with the United States.
Iran, which is blocking the strait from the north, has repeatedly threatened not to allow “a single liter of oil” to be exported from the region if the attacks against it do not cease, while Washington has insisted that the offensive will only escalate if Tehran blocks the flow of crude through this strategic point. Attacks on oil tankers and cargo ships passing through Hormuz, plus these persistent threats, have the strait virtually closed to traffic.
The escalating conflict following US and Israeli attacks on Iran has disrupted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route through which nearly 25% of seaborne oil passes, threatening to raise the cost of energy, transport, and food globally, according to a United Nations report.
